Sometimes I look at sweet Ellie and almost don't recognize her. She is becoming quite the lady with tons of ideas, creativity, and spirit so kind it baffles even me. She loves Jesus with all her heart, she exudes a patience that puts me into check, and is quite the beauty if I say so myself. She still rides horses, but has also taken up ballet. The other day she started showing me some of her new found moves so I grabbed the camera and shot away. This is Ellie...

AN UPDATE: Some of you may remember this post about our struggles with Ellie and school. I thought a little update would be in order since so many of you were absolutely heart warming and encouraging while I was in a hard place. We decided to hold her back for one year. She is repeating 1st grade and it is the best decision we could have made for her. She has flourished to say the least. She has great friendships and her best friend from last year still remains that way even though they are in different grades now. She has done better academically in some areas yet still struggles in things like spelling. She finally came of age, you have to be seven, to have her tested for dyslexia. She does have a mild case so with some work we shall overcome. Her phonological Processing scored well below average, but her Cognitive/Problem solving scored in the 99th percentile. She is part genius! The Doctor expressed that my Ellie is one of the most brilliant children she has ever met. I may have cried, a lot. I kind of got used to people telling me she is sweet, but it's always followed up with concerns. Honestly it has been a hard process for myself emotionally. I had/have dyslexia and it is something you never want to pass down to your children. To this day I can't repeat a phone number back if spoken to me, my time frame is completely out of sync with reality, ect, yet I can read just fine and I can write. Not always without error of course, but well enough. The Doctor giving her the test showed me the exact test she gave Ellie. I failed in most areas still. I did not get even a fraction of what Ellie could see within the Cognitive Problem Solving. I was at a loss and slightly embarrased to say the least. My high now is knowing how we can help her and simply move forward. This will not define her.